Los Angeles Times workers are walking out today, the first strike at the publication in its 142-year history. The one-day unfair labor practice strike is happening six years to the day that workers formed a union at the Times.
Earlier this week, Los Angeles Times management announced that it intends to imminently lay off a significant number of journalists and asked the Guild to gut seniority protections in the union contract so they have vastly more freedom to pick whom to lay off. This will greatly damage their ability to provide the accountability journalism so important to Southern California.
In response, the Guild is holding a one-day, multi-city walkout on Friday to Save Local Journalism. It will be held at 12 p.m. PT on the southwest side of Gloria Molina Grand Park (200 N Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012) near L.A. City Hall.
Staff will also be participating in Sacramento, Washington and elsewhere; and will be abstaining from work for the day. This is the first newsroom union work stoppage in the history of the Los Angeles Times, which began printing in 1881.
“The changes to our contract that management is trying to pressure us into accepting are obscene and unsustainable,” said Brian Contreras, chair of the Guild’s Unit Council. “If this newsroom will ever be a place where reporters can have a reliable, steady job and put down roots in Los Angeles, that will only happen through the preservation of our seniority protections. And if management thinks our financial situation is untenable, they need to come to the bargaining table in good faith and work out a buyout plan with us that would first articulate a clear headcount or cost saving they’re aiming for, and then seek to hit that number with as many buyouts — and as few layoffs — as possible.”
Readers and supporters are asked to not engage with Los Angeles Times journalism: do not give interviews, do not click on stories, do not read articles and do not share materials from the Times.
Because management has insisted on negotiating in meetings that are off the record, the union cannot say how many of its members the company wants to lay off. But it is a substantial number in a year in which journalism will play a critical role in the future of democracy.
Times management has asked the Guild to make an impossible decision. Agreeing to their request means almost anyone could be laid off. It is union-busting at its core and presents a false choice for preserving diversity within our ranks.
The Guild is pushing for less destructive cost-cutting measures. The three demands the Guild has made of Los Angeles Times management are:
- GIVE US A NUMBER: We want management to publicly articulate a clear headcount or salary reduction they’re aiming for, then offer the enhanced buyouts package outlined in our contract — up to 52 weeks pay — to all Guild members over a seven-day period, with no cap on the number of people who can be given one. We then want all such buyouts to be credited against the layoff total. We reject all seniority carve outs.
- TELL US WHO IS MAKING DECISIONS: We want our new interim executive editors (in place following the abrupt departure of executive editor Kevin Merida last week) as well as President and COO Chris Argentieri to hold an all-hands town hall and articulate a clear road map for revenue growth and not just cost reductions.
- MORE GUILD INPUT: We want ownership to convene a search and selection committee for the next executive editor which includes multiple Guild representatives.
“We built a union to safeguard the future of the Los Angeles Times and its journalists and that mission hasn’t changed,” said Jon Schleuss, international president of The NewsGuild-CWA and former journalist at the Times. “The owner can do the right thing by working with journalists to find a solution that’s both humane and does the right thing for an international community that depends on L.A. Times reporting.”
The owner, Dr. Soon-Shiong, and Times management can pursue other strategies to avoid layoffs and preserve their success in diversifying the newsroom. The Washington Post just accomplished this through buyouts — there is no reason it cannot happen here.
“Management is trying to pit colleagues against colleagues to execute a plan that will be detrimental to the long term success of the L.A. Times and a blow to the free press in the second largest city in America,” said the Guild’s Black Caucus co-chairs Erin B. Logan and Erika D. Smith.
Sign the petition and stand with the workers
This week Los Angeles Times Management announced imminent mass layoffs of journalists that threatens the quality of local news coverage across LA and the state of California.
For 143 years, Journalists at the LA Times have been serving quality local news to ensure our communities can stay informed and connected. Mass layoffs greatly harm our ability to serve our communities and carry out the mission of journalism.
That’s why on January 19, workers at the LA Times Guild are walking off the job for a one-day, multi-city unfair labor practice strike. And we need your help!
Join us in signing a petition to the LA Times Management to demand less destructive cost-cutting measures and preserve local news coverage across LA and greater California.
To: Los Angeles Times Management
Journalists at the Los Angeles Times have been serving our communities for 143 years and we stand by them. Mass layoffs greatly threaten the quality of news coverage in LA and harm our communities.
We stand with LA Times Guild in demanding less destructive cost-cutting measures than mass layoffs:
1. GIVE US A NUMBER: We want management to publicly articulate a clear headcount or salary reduction they’re aiming for, then offer the enhanced buyouts package outlined in the Guild contract — up to 52 weeks pay — to all Guild members over a seven-day period, with no cap on the number of people who can be given one. We then want all such buyouts to be credited against the layoff total. We reject all seniority carve outs.
2. TELL US WHO IS MAKING DECISIONS: We want new interim executive editors (in place following the abrupt departure of executive editor Kevin Merida last week) as well as President and COO Chris Argentieri to hold an all-hands town hall and articulate a clear road map for revenue growth and not just cost reductions.
3. MORE GUILD INPUT: We want ownership to convene a search and selection committee for the next executive editor which includes multiple Guild representatives.